Texas Rangers Blog

Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels clears up confusion on Jurickson Profar

SURPRISE, Ariz. – The Rangers haven’t yet officially begun training camp and the buzz over Jurickson Profar, the top prospect in baseball, is non-stop.

Will he play in the World Baseball Classic? Will he have a legitimate shot to win a spot on the roster? Will he play the outfield?

And that’s just to name a few.

Start at the end. General manager Jon Daniels acknowledged Tuesday that the club has no plans to play Profar in the outfield. That should put a rest to some confusion over comments Daniels made last week. While emphasizing versatility, Daniels was asked about Profar possibly getting work in the outfield. At the time, Daniels said “why not?” and went on to discuss the need for more versatility.

Texas Rangers shortstop Jurickson Profar (2) makes a play on a ball against the Seattle Mariners in MLB baseball action at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, September 15, 2012. (Brad Loper/The Dallas Morning News)

On Monday, though, manager Ron Washington said he had no intention of working Profar in the outfield. On Tuesday, Daniels essentially said he was talking hyperbole to emphasize the need for versatility.

“He is an infielder and that’s the way we see him,” Daniels said. “Do we plan on working him in right field? No.

Daniels also held out the caveat that he wouldn’t be surprised if at some point in time Profar does get some work in the outfield, but stressed that is not a priority.

The priority first is finding out if he intends to play in the WBC for the Netherlands. Profar has wavered, telling the Rangers two weeks ago that he had no intentions to play, but once word got out about that, he endured some questions in Curacao. Daniels said if Profar does elect to play in the WBC, it will greatly diminish the chance of him making the team out of spring. It would take him out of exhibition action for at least a week and possibly three.

For Profar to carve out a meaningful role on the team, which Daniels said is the only way he will make the roster, requires him being in camp, understanding defensive alignments, practicing in-game situational hitting and baserunning and displaying grasp of fundamentals that would make manager Ron Washington more confident in using him.

“It’s not just about coming in here and hitting .500 or something like that,” Daniels said. “He’s got to play different middle infield positions, come off the bench, learn the cutoffs and relays and defensive plays. The manager has to have confidence in him in different spots in order for him to create a meaningful role.”

Top Picks

Comments

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.